High-SocieTea
"Where the Art and Elegance of Taking Tea is Treasured"
"Hear Ye, Hear Ye Olde English Crumpets"
One can easily imagine snuggling in front of a crackling fire while drifts of newly fallen snow begin to tower outside your window, and a silver tea service on a tray sits in front of you laden with a plate of crumpets just begging to be eaten. Quintessentially British, crumpets are hot, honeycombed biscuits perfect for slathering with butter. You will need crumpet rings, or 3"-4" diameter metal rings about 1" deep, to make this satisfying comfort food.
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups milk mixed
with 1-1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
7 tablespoons warm water
Sift the flour and salt into a warm bowl, cover and place in a very low oven for 10 minutes.
In a saucepan, warm the milk and water, oil and sugar. Stir in the yeast and leave in a warm place until frothy.
Make a well in the center of the warmed flour and pour in the yeast mixture. Stir and beat the batter for a good five minutes to incorporate as much air as possible. An electric mixer would be the easiest method for beating. Cover the bowl and leave it for two hours at warm room temperature, until the surface is bubbly.
Dissolve the baking soda in 2-3 tablespoons warm water and stir it into the batter. Beat another couple of minutes. Cover the bowl again and leave for another hour.
Lightly grease a large heavy frying pan or skillet with shortening. Also, grease 3 or 4 crumpet rings and place them in the pan. Fill each ring almost to the top with the batter. Heat gently for 8 to 10 minutes until the surface of the crumpets becomes dotted with holes.
Slip the rings off and flip the crumpets over to cook an additional 4 minutes.
Remove from the pan and eat immediately slathered with butter or save for later and toast them on both sides.
NOTE: If a lot of holes do not appear in your first batch, add a little warm water to the remaining batter and the rest of your crumpets should be perfect.
On a cold and snowy day, hot crumpets served with a steaming cup of Bigelow’s English Teatime tea is sure to chase the winter blues away.
